Monday, October 27, 2008

AOL Black Voices: SOUL WEEK AT THE BLUE NOTE

10/16/08:
Roy Ayers
Jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers makes his debut at New York City's famous Blue Note jazz restaurant from October 28-29. As part of Blue Note's 'Soul Week,' with Leon Ware will take the stage to perform some of his timeless classics on Oct. 27. On October 31, Soul singer Res will also make her Blue Note debut in a show produced by Jill Newman Productions. 'Soul Week At The Blue Note' takes place October 27, 29-30 (Ayers), and Oct. 31 (Res).

Monday, October 20, 2008

CHARLIE HADEN AND THE LIBERATION MUSIC ORCHESTRA

Charlie Haden's music is beyond category. Pull a recording at random from Haden's catalogue that spans his 40 year career as a bandleader and you might get avant-garde jazz, noir jazz, world music, or country music - the genre of choice on his latest release Ramblin' Boy (Decca, 2008). Like it or not, a Charlie Haden recording is reflection of the man himself, be it personal, political, or both. When Haden returns to the Blue Note for his weeklong run starting on Election Day, November 4 (alongside Carla Bley and his 12-member Liberation Music Orchestra), his political side is certain to emerge. The LMO was formed in 1969, taking much of its inspiration from the music of the Spanish Civil War on their self-titled debut, composed in protest of the war in Vietnam. Haden's liberal views have been widely publicized, and many of his albums have been composed in opposition to whoever was in the White House at the time. In fact, New Jersey based journalist Elzy Kolb recent mused that "the only advantage of living in such 'interesting' political times is that they sometime result in a new LMO CD." Regardless of which way the 2008 election goes, Haden, Bley, and the LMO's music will be full of fire and passion. Below, the orchestra performs Samuel Barber's Adagio For Strings arranged by Bley for horns.

TWO CMJ SHOWS ADDED AT THE BLUE NOTE

For all of you music fans who are coming from all over to check out the plethora of CMJ shows in New York, don't forget that we have two stellar CMJ acts at the Blue Note: Maya Azucena on Friday, October 24, and Otis Grove on Saturday, October 25.

CMJ Showscase: MAYA AZUCENA FEATURING:
Maya Azucena, vocals
Christian Ver Halen, guitar
Other musicians, TBA
MAKE RESERVATION
BAR TABLE
$10.00 $10.00


CMJ Showcase: OTIS GROVE FEATURING:
Sam Gilman, hammond organ, fender rhodes, Clavinet, acoustic piano
Tyler Drabick, guitar
Blake Goedde, drums/percussion
MAKE RESERVATION
BAR TABLE
$8.00 $8.00

Hyperballad - Bjork vs. Bjorkestra

Here are two live versions of Bjork's "Hyperballad" - a live, more upbeat version of the original performed by Bjork and another as performed by Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra, who will appear at the Blue Note tonight only. Regardless of which one you like "better," the creativity on behalf of the Bjorkestra can't be denied. Over the last ten years or more, Bjork has been one of the most covered artists by jazz musicians.

HYPERBALLAD PERFORMED BY BJORK

HYPERBALLAD PERFORMED BY TRAVIS SULLIVAN'S BJORKESTRA

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

McCoy Tyner *NEW WEBSITE* Launched

Check out McCoy Tyner's new and improved website www.mccoytyner.com for tour dates, videos, and more!

Friday, October 3, 2008

On a Visit From Brazil, a Certain Vowel in Tow

Music Review | Gal Costa

By BEN RATLIFF
Published: October 1, 2008

photo by Michelle V. Agins of the NY Times

Whenever Gal Costa draws out a flat “a” at the end of a Portuguese word, she wins. She can do this as much as she wants, and it always works. She doesn’t use it showily; she’s in her early 60s now, and her voice has become darker and softer. But the corners of her mouth widen so that you can see her back teeth, her tone dramatically brightens, and suddenly what was language becomes purely sound.

Halfway through her first set at the Blue Note on Tuesday, where she plays through the week with only the guitarist Romero Lubambo accompanying her, she sang a version of Caetano Veloso’s “Lindeza.” It’s a love song without a specific object — maybe just the idea of beauty itself — and as she sang the opening line “coisa linda” (“beautiful thing”), she won twice. After that came “louca,” “boca,” “acreditar,” and then, a bit later, the line she had clearly been waiting for: in a downward stepwise melody, “lua lua lua lua.” It meant “moon,” four times, but it was as if she had cracked open the word, had thrown away the shell of meaning and had shown us the viscous stuff inside it.

Singing this particular vowel pulls her face into a smile, and that was good too because Ms. Costa seemed otherwise preoccupied and slightly downcast between songs. For someone who clearly cares about sound, she had reason to be anxious: a show this intimate was an experiment.

In her American appearances over the last several years she has compressed her performance style: big concerts have given way to appearances with a small jazzlike ensemble, and now, unprecedentedly, this. In the set’s ballads, and in bossa novas done the right way — as miniaturized adaptations of percussive samba, with strong and subtle swing — there was a great deal of intricacy. She’ll need the week to get used to the room and to Mr. Lubambo, with whom she hasn’t played much in the past.

But the signs are promising. Ms. Costa has chosen some of the most durable songs from Brazilian popular music — songs by Chico Buarque, Antonio Carlos Jobím, Ary Barroso and Mr. Veloso, among others. (“The Girl From Ipanema” was among them, delivered half in Portuguese and half, unnecessarily, in English.) For his part, Mr. Lubambo was working hard. A highly fluent guitarist with a lot of jazz knowledge but enough taste to leave bossa novas uncluttered, he brought his own remarkable introductions and arrangements of Jobím’s “Wave” and Barroso’s “Aquarela do Brasil.” At the best points of the set they both gave off an intense affection for the songs, and you could grasp it more clearly without other musicians around them.

Gal Costa and Romero Lubambo will perform through Sunday at the Blue Note, 131 West 3rd Street, West Village, bluenote.net.